A few days ago, a controversy arose when Muslim students in Malaysia tried to block a Gwen Stefani concert in Kuala Lumpur. The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students believed that Stefani's stage show was too provocative and therefore they deemed it offensive toward the Muslim religion.
Stefani, not one to further the controversy, has promised to cover herself up during the August 21 show, which takes place at Putra Indoor Stadium. Maxis Communications, the company that sponsors Stefani's tour, says that Gwen "will abide by the Malaysian authorities' guidelines to ensure that her show will not be offensive to local sensitivities."
Malaysia's Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry will be attending the concert to make sure Stefani abides by the strict code of ethics. Here are the rules Stefani will need to obey (from E! Online):
A female artist must be covered from the top of her chest to her knees; no jumping, shouting, hugging or kissing onstage; no clothing depicting offensive messages or images (drugs, sex, etc.); and no throwing things at the audience.
Last year, authorities fined a music promoter when a Pussycat Dolls concert failed to meet these standards. Shocker.
Alright, so Maxis Communications wants to give in... I mean, respect Muslim heritage. That's fine. They want to make money. It's understandable. But here's another interesting fact from E!: Muslims in Malaysia make up 60% of the population, with the rest comprising of various religions. Sixty percent? That's barely a majority. So 40% of people at this concert have to miss out on schoolgirl outfits and bare midriffs to keep a religious organization happy? How are they supposed to enjoy "Wind It Up" when there's no slutty costume involved? How, dammit, how?!?!
That gives me an idea. I would like to see Gwen Stefani perform an entire show fully nude. I'm pretty sure I could get 60% of New York City to support me in this cause, whether they support it for personal enjoyment, out of spite, for comedy, to prove a point, whatever. The point is, slightly over half the city would support this. Now, this might seem like a crazy idea, but everyone's entitled to their opinions, right? If someone wholeheartedly believes something, we could never call it crazy, right? The church of Muslim wants Stefani to cover up when she performs in Malaysia; well, the church of Tom Z wants her to perform fully nude in New York City. I have to check her tour schedule and find a NYC show, then I'll be sending around a petition about a month beforehand.
